Molecular Biology News and Research

RSS

Molecular biology is the study of biology at a molecular level. The field overlaps with other areas of biology and chemistry, particularly genetics and biochemistry. Molecular biology chiefly concerns itself with understanding the interactions between the various systems of a cell, including the interactions between DNA, RNA and protein biosynthesis as well as learning how these interactions are regulated.

Nano Terra, Kadmon sign deal to license novel product candidates

Kadmon Pharmaceuticals LLC, and Nano Terra, Inc., today announced that they have entered into an agreement under which Kadmon has been granted a perpetual, worldwide exclusive license to three novel, clinical-stage product candidates owned by Nano Terra as well as rights to Nano Terra's drug discovery platform, Pharmacomer Technology.

25 Apr 2011

Scientists decode entire genome of lyre-leaved rock cress

It would appear reasonable to assume that two closely related plant species would have similar genetic blueprints. However, scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology in T-bingen, working in cooperation with an international research team have now decoded, for the first time, the entire genome of the lyre-leaved rock cress (Arabidopsis lyrata), a close relative of the thale cress (Arabidopsis thaliana), the model plant used by geneticists.

22 Apr 2011

Penn researchers explore the role of telomere caps in human aging

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine are delving into the details of the complex structure at the ends of chromosomes.

21 Apr 2011

LabCorp first quarter revenues increase 14.6% to $1,368.4 million

Laboratory Corporation of America® Holdings today announced results for the quarter ended March 31, 2011. These results include the operations of Genzyme Genetics, which the Company acquired in the fourth quarter of 2010.

21 Apr 2011

Humans have three different gut types, finds study

In the future, when you walk into a doctor's surgery or hospital, you could be asked not just about your allergies and blood group, but also about your gut type. Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, and collaborators in the international MetaHIT consortium, have found that humans have 3 different gut types.

21 Apr 2011

Stealth Peptides launches mitochondrion targeting compound Bendavia at Experimental Biology 2011

Stealth Peptides Inc., a privately held biopharmaceutical company developing innovative mitochondrial therapies, introduced its lead clinical candidate, Bendavia™, a novel compound that targets the mitochondrion, during multiple scientific sessions of the Experimental Biology 2011 meeting.

20 Apr 2011

New study finds treatment-resistant epilepsy common in idiopathic autism

A new study found that treatment-resistant epilepsy (TRE) is common in idiopathic autism. Early age at the onset of seizures and delayed global development were associated with a higher frequency of resistance to antiepileptic drugs (AEDs). Full findings appear online in Epilepsia, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE).

19 Apr 2011

NIH awards U of M's scientist with $10 million grant for HIV research

Reuben Harris, professor in the University of Minnesota's College of Biological Sciences, has been awarded a five-year, $10 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to direct a large-scale research effort to study a human antiviral protein with potential for treating HIV and other viral diseases.

19 Apr 2011

Acute high-fat diets can protect against heart attack

Approximately one million Americans suffer a heart attack each year of which some 400,000 attacks are fatal. A key cause of heart attacks is atherosclerosis, a process in which cholesterol builds up in the arteries and impedes the ability of the blood to flow to our most vital organ.

15 Apr 2011

Researchers temporarily turn off essential gene using RNAi technology

One way of discovering a gene's function is to switch it off and observe how the loss of its activity affects an organism. If a gene is essential for survival, however, then switching it off permanently will kill the organism before the gene's function can be determined. Researchers at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) have overcome this problem by using RNA interference (RNAi) technology to temporarily turn off any essential gene in adult mice and then turn it back on before the change kills the animals.

15 Apr 2011

Walking slows progression of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in obese people

Walking on a treadmill for one hour a day may slow the progression of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in obese people with prediabetes by jump-starting their metabolism and slowing the oxidative damage wrought by the condition, say researchers at the Cleveland Clinic.

15 Apr 2011

Elsevier introduces new online research tool

Elsevier, the leading publisher of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, today announced the launch of Methods Navigator. This online research tool enables life scientists to search, access and apply the right method for their research, saving time and producing high-quality results.

15 Apr 2011

Changes in hormonal status have no impact on women's voice parameters

In recent years several studies have suggested that women's voices change at different times over the menstrual cycle, with the tone rising as ovulation approaches. Now a study conducted by researchers at the West Texas A&M University in which women's voices were subjected to computerized acoustical analysis contradicts those findings.

12 Apr 2011

IncP-1 plasmids can transport antibiotic resistance genes between bacterial species

The part of bacterial DNA that often carries antibiotic resistance is a master at moving between different types of bacteria and adapting to widely differing bacterial species, shows a study made by a research team at the University of Gothenburg in cooperation with Chalmers University of Technology. The results are published in an article in the scientific journal Nature Communications.

12 Apr 2011

African-American adults with CVD may benefit from 'sunshine vitamin'

In recent years supplementation with Vitamin D has been shown to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease in people who are deficient in the vitamin.

12 Apr 2011

Strong bitter taste can cause nausea: Research

Swallow the good, spit out the bad. A new study from the Monell Center highlights the vital role taste plays as the body's gatekeeper. The research shows that strong bitter taste in and of itself can cause people to both report the sensation of nausea and display a pattern of stomach activity characteristic of actual nausea.

12 Apr 2011

Obesity impacts gene clock of cardiovascular system

Obese individuals typically suffer more medical problems than their leaner counterparts. They are more likely to be diagnosed with insulin resistance, diabetes, increased stress hormones, hypothyroidism, and sleep apnea. Researchers at the Georgia Health Sciences University in Augusta have also found the potential for something else, using an animal model.

12 Apr 2011

Study on 'health halo effect'

Jenny Wan-chen Lee, a graduate student in Cornell University's Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, has been fascinated with a phenomenon known as "the halo effect" for some time.

11 Apr 2011

Tai chi, green tea may help reduce inflammatory diseases in postmenopausal women

C.S. Lewis, the famous author and Oxford academic, once proclaimed "You can't get a cup of tea big enough or a book long enough to suit me." We sip it with toast in the morning, enjoy it with sweets and biscuits in the afternoon, and relax with it at the end of the day.

11 Apr 2011

Takeda, Heptares collaborate to develop new drugs against CNS disorders

Heptares Therapeutics and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company today announced the formation of a two-year drug discovery collaboration focused on a single G-protein coupled receptor that plays an important role in the pathology of central nervous system disorders.

11 Apr 2011